December 27, 2011

Oh goodness, it seems a bit surreal that this thing is finally happening. It feels very weird to write that my book is actually available as of today. And, I just found out it's already been reviewed (there are a couple of other project pictures there), wow.

But as it actually is available today, despite my own disbelief, I wanted to tell you a bit about it and show some of the pictures that didn't make it into the book. The book contains almost 30 projects (the almost 30 sounds weird but depending on how you count them you could say there are 32 projects because some projects have variations that required a whole separate set of instructions. There are also some super quick and easy sidebar projects.)

The projects are divided into bags, home, children's projects including toys, bedding and clothing, and adult clothing. My goal was for the projects to simple enough for anyone to sew without being boring, to be pretty, versatile and to be really practical, in other words, projects you would really want to make and use in your every day life. There are lots of full size patterns in a nice envelope at the back of the book. I wanted the book to be really easy to use so nothing in the book needs to be enlarged.

This book was one of the most difficult and rewarding things I've ever done and at this point, out in the world as it is, all I can say is that I really, truly hope you like it...

I also just want to say thank you to my mother, Linda Whelan. She did all the technical illustrations in the book and supported me in every way possible during the writing process. I could not have done it without her. Boy, do I love my mom...

And, I really need to say thank you so much to every one who reads this blog, and those who buy my fabrics and patterns. None of this would have happened without you, and I'm very, very grateful to you every day. Thank you, like seriously, just thank you for the support and kindness you've given me in the last few years...

To celebrate the release of the book I'm giving away 3 downloadable patterns to anyone who buys the book in the next week. Scroll down to the bottom to see the patterns. I'll be explaining how this will work in the next post.

Below are pictures of some of the projects from the book. These pictures didn't work for one reason or another (I took like 3000 or something) but the projects are the same as in the book.

I love this picture of the Big Easy Sling project (a great big reversible bag, super easy to make) but it was too dark in the foreground, too light in the background and wouldn't have printed well.

I love this picture of the box ottoman taken in wonderful Yvonne's gorgeous house, the prettiest house I've ever seen (owned by one of the loveliest people I've ever met) and the setting for many of the pictures in the book. This is just a variation on a baby blocks project in the kids section of the book but I wanted to present a really easy method to make blocks to any size so they could be used as fun squishy seating for a kids room.

My little Ava girl wearing the Juliette blouse project that can be made with short or long sleeves, as dress, or with shirring at the bodice or any combination of these. I wanted to provide a simple pattern the could be used to make lots of variations. This picture was a bit dark and the shirt a bit too washed out to use for the book.

Ok, I know the dress is a bit short!! Goodness, it looks like an ice skating costume or something. It's the Chloe dress, super easy and versatile with a fitted front and shirred back to give a great fit that's also comfortable. Basically, I was rushing to try to catch the light (trying to catch light in Belgium in the winter is not easy and something I was constantly in a panic about while trying to take the pictures for this book) and instead of trying the dress on the model and then carefully pinning it to the correct length I just held it up to her, guestimated, cut and hemmed it. Um, oops. And, to make matters worse the skirt is wrinkled, ugh. We did use another version of this picture in the book, cropped above the hem...

That's a bit better, the skirt length that is. Same dress as above, the Chloe strapless. I do give instructions for straps though as an option. I think this is really classic, feminine silhouette and could be made, depending on the fabric for so many things from a picnic to holiday party. I had originally wanted to make each project in a variety of fabrics to show versatility but there just was not enough time darn it. So, I indulged in some silly and sloppy photoshopping this morning. I went sort of innocent sweet with my original grey dot fabric but I'd love to see this dress made in black with a big red rose at the waist....

This one is the Every Day Tunic. I didn't time it but it is extremely quick and easy to make. I really wanted to include some knit projects in the book because knit is so extremely practical and comfortable. I think this picture is quite lovely but there are a bunch of problems with lighting and focus, ugh again!! There's a good one in the book though.

This is a picture from the actual book of the Go-To Top or Dress. The reviewer I mentioned above had it up so figured why not share it here. Again, super simple to make!

And finally, these are the three downloadable patterns I'll be giving away to anyone who buys the book this week. More details on that in the next post.

November 11, 2011

My mother, Linda Whelan, makes the cutest Christmas things. Stockings, tags, ornaments all made with a combination of new and vintage fabrics. Check out her etsy store Xmas Muse if you're looking for sweet gifts or decorations for Christmas.

October 15, 2011

It's been a long while since I had a giveaway, too long. I just received the my actual book, bound and everything!!!, this week and have been over the moon. I wanted to celebrate with a giveaway of 24 fat quarters of my new fabric collection Sugar Hill and a signed copy of my book, Sew What You Love (which is, btw, available for pre-order). Both may take a while to get to you though since neither have yet been officially released. I think sometime in December the winner will be receiving them. Just leave a comment for a chance to win and celebrate with me!!!

October 14, 2011

I see a huge amount of traffic coming to this post from tumbler and I couldn't resist letting people know that in the next post I have a giveaway of my new fabric collection and new book going on right now. I'd love you to enter!! Just leave a comment in the next post for a chance to win. Thanks for stopping by!!

OK, here's the original skirt tutorial post:

Here's the tutorial I mentioned in the last post. This is another great and simple way to make a classic pleated skirt, this time a wrap. It's really just like making a very wide pleated apron. These are great for kids because the wrap detail means it will fit for a while. This tutorial shows how to make it to any size. Here goes:

Supplies

tape measure or long string and rulerpencilironpinsuse 1/4 inch seam allowancesfabric amounts depend on measurements of the wearer

1. Figure the skirt width. Measure the wearers waist using a tape measure or long string and a ruler. Multiply that number by 2.66, round to the nearest half inch, and then add 8 (for a 6 inch overlap and 2 inch seam allowance). Add 8" to the waist measurement and then multiply by 2.66.

example: waist = 28" 28 x 2.66 = 74.48 74.5 + 8 = 82.5

28 + 8 = 36 36 x 2.66 = 95.76

2. Figure the length of the waistband/ties by adding 21 inches to the final skirt width by 2.5" wide. If you need to, It's fine to piece two fabrics together along the short side to achieve the correct length though I wouldn't piece more then two fabrics because you'll get too many noticeable seams.

3. Figure the skirt length. Measure from waist to where you want the skirt to fall. Add 1.25" for hem and seam allowance.

4. Cut your fabric according to these measurements.

5. Make the pleats. First hem the short edges of the skirt. Fold the raw edges to the wrong side by 1/2", press, repeat and topstitch. Along the top raw edge of your fabric use a pencil to make marks 1.5" apart. Use an iron to press pleats in alternating directions at every 1.5" mark and pin in place.

6. Attach the skirt band/tie. With right sides facing place the band/tie, off center so that it will be about 8" longer on one side then the other, on top of the top (pleated) edge of the skirt aligning raw edges. Pin and sew the band/tie to the skirt. Press the raw edge of the band/tie to the wrong side by 1/4" down the entire length. Press the raw edges of the short sides of the ties to the wrong side by 1/2". Fold the band over so that the 1/4" pressed fold covers the raw edges of the seam on the wrong side of the skirt and pin. You are essentially using the band as you would seam binding. Starting in the middle of the skirt, topstitch very close to the folded edge of the the band on the wrong side of the skirt to the end of one tie. Repeat. Press the raw edge of the bottom of the skirt to the wrong side by 1/2". Repeat. Pin and sew to hem. Press the entire skirt to emphasize pleats and get a crisp edge on the top edge of the band.

October 09, 2011

There seems to be a theme emerging these last few posts. I've got pleats on the brain obvously. I love the design of this skirt because it's classic, versatile, super easy to make, can be made to any size and because it's a wrap skirt it will fit a little girl for a couple of years. I'll have a tutorial up soon for this and in addition to the clutch with the pleating detail, I have yet one more tutorial in my mind for a pleated skirt made from outgrown kids leggings. I think I'll give pleats a rest at that point, for a while anyway.

I recently made two wonderful discoveries when the lovely Natalie Osborn, an editor from Crafts Beautiful Magazine, www.crafts-beautiful.com contacted me to let me know she had used my fabric for a lampshade workshop at the beautiful crafting venue Homemade London and had featured the experience in an article for the magazine. I'm a fan of anything that encourages others to explore and express their creativity in new ways and Crafts Beautiful really does that with lots of ideas and inspiration for papercraft, sewing, and jewelry crafting to name a few. I'll be working with Crafts Beautiful on a couple of exciting things in the next few months which I'm thrilled about and as for Homemade London I love the idea of this place. A beautiful environment to learn and craft lots of different kinds of things in one space. I wonder if this is a trend?? I haven't seen anything like it up till now and I'm just loving the idea.

I'll have another tutorial up for a cute little clutch soon. I'm packed with creative energy lately. I'd felt a bit sapped of it for a few months after the book was finished. Suddenly though so many projects are coming to mind that I want to share...

October 03, 2011

This is a super easy way to make a very full, twirly pleated skirt without a zipper and without having to sew the pleats along their length. It's made up of a top band sewn to a pleated skirt. It can be made to any size. I used cotton quilt weight fabric but chorduroy or wool would be great too.

Sorry for the not great pictures and rough diagrams but I'm trying not to be such a perfectionist about such things as it holds me back from posting projects when I try to make everything look perfect...

If you're looking for a ruffled skirt tutorial, take a look at this one I did a few years back.

Tape measure or long string and ruler or yardstickPencil3/4" wide elasticIronPinsSafety pinFabric amounts depend on measurements in step 1

Use .25" seam allowances

1.Figure the width and length of the front and back pleated portion of the skirt. Measure child around her hips at the widest part. If you don't have a tape measure use a long string and a yardstick to get this measurement. Divide this number by two and then multiply by 2.66. To this number add .5" (for the seam allowance). Round this number to the nearest whole number. This is the final width (un-pleated) of the front and back panels of the pleated portion of the skirt.

Example: Hips=30". 30/2 = 15(2.66) = 39.9 + .5 = 40.4. Round to 40".

***Note: this skirt is easy to make smaller if the final size is too big but it can't be made bigger. It wouldn't hurt to add one more inch per panel in addition to the seam allowance and then take it by sewing the side seams if it's too big.

To figure out the length, measure from the top of your girls hips, but not her waist as the skirt is meant to sit a bit low, to where you want the skirt to fall. I like it to fall about mid thigh to be worn with leggings or tights. It's best to measure her in back so you can take her backside into account. Subtract 2.75" from this measurement.

Cut a rectangle of fabric to the final width and length measurements.

2. On the top raw edge of both the front and back panels make a mark with a pencil every 1.5". Make a pleat every 3" by pulling up at mark A, folding at mark B and pulling A over to meet mark C (see step 2 diagram). Repeat treating the next mark as "A". Press the first couple inches of each pleat with an iron and pin in place. When you get to the end, if there isn't enough fabric left for a full pleat just leave it un pleated. Before proceeding, make sure the front and back panels are the same size after pleating.

3. To make the top band, cut two rectangles of fabric that are as wide as the pleated portion of the skirt and about 6" long.

4. With right sides together sew the band pieces to the top raw edge of the pleated pieces to form the front and back of the skirt (see step 4 diagram) It's easiest to sew this in the direction of the pleats and with the pleats on top. Remove the pins. With right sides together, sew the front of the skirt to the back of the skirt along the sides.

At this point, try the skirt on your girl. It should fit easily over her hips without being huge. Take it in along the side seams if it's too big and trim the seam allowances.

5. Make the casing for the elastic. Fold the top raw edge of the skirt to the wrong side (inside of the skirt) by .5" and press. Fold again by 1", press and sew close to the folded edge. Leave about 1" un sewn near one side seam as this is where the elastic will be inserted.

6. Pin the safety pin to the elastic and work the elastic through the opening in the casing around and back to the opening. Try the skirt on your girl one more time and pull the elastic so that it's slightly smaller then the skirt but still comfortable. Cut elastic to this length plus 1". Overlap the ends of the elastic by .5" and sew together. Sew the opening in the casing closed.

7. Hem the skirt. Fold the bottom raw edge of the skirt to the wrong side (inside) by .5", press, repeat and sew close to the folded over edge.

September 26, 2011

So, I have a little promotion going on. I'm offering a free download of one of the two patterns above to anyone who links from their blog, website, facebook or twitter feed to my book, Sew What You Love, on both Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com. Just email the links to me at tanya@grandrevivaldesign.com for confirmation and I'll email you the free download link within 24 hours (probably much sooner then that but I might be walking the dog or taking a shower or something). A text link is fine but if you want to use the book cover photo on my right side bar that would be wonderful. Oh and let me know which pattern you'd like to download.

Below are a couple of projects from the book. More sneak peaks and details about the book coming soon.

September 24, 2011

Well, I always new I wanted children but I never knew just how much I wanted a dog until we got one. Jacob Marley is a 9 week old Golden Doodle. We saw one a few years ago driving in Manhatten on a cold winter night. A young woman was walking down the street with this great big, deliriously happy looking, bounding, long haired white dog which I recognized as a Golden Doodle as we'd been doing a little bit of research on hypo-allergenic dogs. The dog was too big to be a puppy but acted just like a puppy. At one point it did a sort of back flip and at that point I think our whole family sort of fell in love with the idea of a Golden Doodle.

We talked about it for a couple years but with allergic children I just never really believed it was possible, just didn't buy the hypo-allergenic thing because even dogs that shed very little still have dander which is what people with allergies are actually allergic to. And I never thought the hassle and responsibility of owning a dog would be something I'd want to bring to my busy life. To make a longish story short, in one of those "you only live once moments" we drove to the UK and bought Jacob Marley. He has not caused even one sneeze in the two weeks we've had him, despite constant touching, nuzzling, and in general ridiculously affectionate behavior toward him. This dog anyway is hypo-allergenic for us and really sheds very little.

Never having had a dog I'm sort of amazed at my feelings of affection for him and just the happiness he has already brought to our family. Watching the bonding process between dog and his people has been really amazing. Even more than that, the way having Jacob has forced me out of my obsessive work routine and for a couple hours each day to just "be there" observing him, playing with him, caring for him, teaching him, and watching him slowly bond to us, has been such a great experience and a change I really needed at this point in my life.

We got a book written by monks who raise German Shepards for tips on house training, obedience training etc.The first paragraph of the book surprised me as I thought it would just be a "how to" book but instead summed up how I've been feeling about this experience. It expresses how the experience of having a dog can enrich a persons life in a deep way and I immediately related to it. Here's the paragraph from the book The Art of Raising a Puppy by the monks of New Skete:

"A puppy's life clearly displays what characterizes the whole of life: the mystery of development. The entire universe, it seems, is in a continuous process of growth that extends from before the first moments of each individual existence to the end of life and beyond. Nothing is excluded from this movement, though our own consciousness of its breadth can be dulled by the chaotic pace of modern living.Too often we take this journey for granted, carelessly letting it pass unacknowleged. With our busy lives we can easily grow insensitive to the basic wonder of life, leaving us spiritually impoverished and unhappy. This is perhaps why animals (particularly our dogs) are so important to us and why we benefit from their companionship: they root us in life."

On a more practical note, crate training for puppies in order to house break them? Please tell me what you think, yes or no? We're on the fence about it though the monks think it's a good idea....

OK, back to craft, fabric and sewing related goodness next post when I'll be promoting my upcoming book with a pattern giveaway...

August 02, 2011

I'll have a higher res version of the cover at some point, (higher res picture is up), just pulled this one from Amazon but still, there it is, the cover of my book. I'm so happy because I didn't know what it was going to be for a long time. This is the one I really wanted but other pictures were being considered so I'm thrilled Random House went with this one. I'll be talking lots more about my book in the coming months before it's released December 27th but just was so happy about the cover and wanted to share it.

In other news,

I'm learning to play guitar and am in absolute love, slightly obsessive love at that.

I'll be at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK August 12th and 13th, along with Kaffe Fasset, Lisa Lam wonderful author and founder of U-handbag, Nel Whatmore of Free Spirit and other wonderful Westminster Fibers designers. Please, please stop by and say hi if you're planning to attend. I'll be in the Westminster Fibers/Rowan booth.

April 28, 2011

My girl Jennifer Paganelli's new book was released yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I literally can't wait to see it. Jennifer fabrics are truly unique, vibrant, beautiful and eclectic and now, in addition to her wonderful sewing patterns, she's brought her amazing aesthetic to her new book. I'm so happy for you Jen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The book will be in all major bookstores. You can order a copy right now here. Or, you can order a signed copy from Jen herself while checking out all the beautiful and inspiring ideas on her blog.

January 27, 2011

I definitely have not been able to sew with Delilah as much as I would have liked. Usually I sew a ton of samples with each collection which is the most exciting part because I get to turn some of the fantasies I had while designing the fabric into reality. I've been writing a book for Random House's Potter Craft, still in the thick of editing, not complaining at all but I just miss sewing as I haven't made it a priority lately. I got a little burned out on sewing during the development phase of the projects for the book and still haven't been able to face my insanely messy sewing room. So I love, love, love seeing what others have been doing with the collection. I love this little reversible jacket from Randi of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics and her blog I Have to Say. The red buttons are killing me!

Melissa over at 100 Billion Stars also has a really cute Valentines Day tutorial using Delilah.

I would truly love to see any projects made with Delilah. Please (pretty please) post them here if you've made something...

December 20, 2010

Finally got a gorgeous, sunny, snowy, steel blue crystal clear sky day here in Belgium after lots of grey days. Very cold but sunny, well until about 4:30 anyway when the sun starts to go down here. And finally got some time and good light to take some pictures of Delilah which has been out for about a month already. Hope you're warm and cozy where ever you are. Happy Holidays all!

xoxo

Tanya

***NOTE*** In answer to a few inquiries, Delilah is available now both in retail stores and wholesale through Free Spirit though it is not on their main site for some reason but in the preview section.

August 27, 2010

My sweet Delilah is almost here. I don't think these scans do her justice but I'll have photos in the next couple of weeks. She'll be introduced at Fall Quilt Market and I think the collection will be available wholesale in October through Free Spirit. I haven't even gotten my sample yardage yet but I can't wait to sew with Delilah.

It has some of the spirit of Darla, the big dotted roses feel so vintage kitchen to me, but with a few smaller scale and decidely girly florals as well which I think will be beautiful for babies. I so hope you like it....

March 27, 2010

Thank you so much for your emails in response to the last post!! I can't tell you how grateful I am to have so many talented people interested in helping me. I'm looking over all of them carefully and gratefully. Thank you so much again to all who responded.

March 25, 2010

Wanted: dependable, committed person to help me in substantial upcoming project that I can't be specific about just yet. Must be able to sew, write clear, concise directions for sewing patterns and be able to illustrate, by hand or computer, steps for such patterns. Great opportunity to have your name attached to a project that will have visibility.

Please email me tanya@grandrevivaldesign.com if you're interested but only if you're serious, have the time, and can do the work outlined. Please let me know in your email what kind of experience and/or skills you can bring to this project. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!!!

February 09, 2010

Come sew with me in Paris! Or just come by and say hi. Met so many lovely, cool shop owners and young entrepreneurs at the trade show last weekend in the Netherlands. My favorite part of these things is meeting people who are passionate about sewing and creativity in general and to hear what their up to. Hope you'll stop by this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for 4 free workshops daily where you'll sew the Metro Bag with me. I hope to see you there!!

January 22, 2010

Coffee and crocheting, two of my favorite things. I'd forgotten how much I love to crochet, I used to do it all the time. The best thing about it is just how portable it is. I can take my yarn and hook anywhere and just start creating. Ava and I are making an afghan together with this gorgeous cotton yarn. I love it because although I love to sew with her, I'm always really nervous that the needle is going to pass right through one of her little fingers so I'm always right on top of her if she's using the sewing machine. With this we can sit together and crochet while watching TV and relax and when I leave the room I'm not petrified of hearing her little self screaming in pain.

My rediscovery of the joy of crochet coincides nicely with what I've got coming up in the next few months. I'll be traveling around Europe to trade and consumer shows to talk about my collections and show project ideas for what to do with my fabrics so it's nice to have something to do in the hotel room. Last weekend I went to Le Smak, a big crafts trade show in Paris to do a couple of workshops with shop owners. Very fun and very interesting. My speech quickly turned into a lively discussion group with these wonderful women which I enjoyed so much more. February 7th I'll be in the Netherlands with the Coats and Clark sales team there at KreavaK a trade show in Arnhem in the Netherlands for meeting, greeting, chatting, and with free patterns in hand. Back to Paris the next week for 4 days at L'aiguille-en-fete for sewing demonstrations of one of my bag patterns where consumers can sit down and sew their own bag with me, just want to show, especially novice sewers how easy and quick it is. Then a couple of trips to Germany in March for some exciting things I'll share later.

Free Spirit Fabrics have only been distributed by Coats and Clark in Europe for about 18 months so I'm just helping to get the word out here. Along those lines, I just found out that my lines are now being carried in the UK at hobbycraft where you can buy Darla on-line and in stores and at John Lewis stores which I'm really excited about.

December 14, 2009

I just had to say a gigantic congratulations to my friend and Free Spirit colleague Melissa Averinos on her forthcoming book. Melissa is a friend, a new friend, not a friend I can say I know well because we've only talked a couple of times but a friend none the less. What I really like about her is that, like me (and like a lot of people I suspect), she is a person with insecurities and vulnerabilities. Unlike me (I tend to dump my insecurities in the safe harbor of my family and friends) she lets this side of herself hang out for all to see on her blog. She's open about her vulnerabilities in an incredibly refreshing and beautiful way. It's just really nice to see that kind of openess, it's a rare thing and a lovely thing. And she has traveled with so much grace through some incredibly difficult (a vast understatement) and also some wonderful things this year, I just admire her carrying on, and yes, rocking on!!! to this fantastic moment. Her first book!!!!!!!!!!! So please, wish her well and send her a bit of love on this special occasion, not as some fancy author type un-relatable kind of person, just as a girl, working really hard everyday to make her dreams come true, and succeeding!!!

December 10, 2009

Yes, please!!! I would like a bit of sunshine, merci!! After a shaky start, I can now honestly say that I love living in Belgium....but, I do find myself missing the sun a bit. It rains here, alot.

On a more sunshiny kind of note, Dolce is finally arriving in stores. It was supposed to arrive in November but hey, better late then never.

Just wanted to say thanks to the stores who emailed me to let me know they had it. Here are some of the fab shops where you can find it: ***to other shop owners who've received their order of Dolce, please let me know you have it and I'll revise this post and add your link.***

November 01, 2009

I'm so proud of my mom! She opened her Etsy Store Xmas Muse again this year. I love her stockings, just so sweet and nostalgic. But even more exciting, she did an article for Romantic Homes magazine about how to make one of her pretty hanky stockings and her stockings ended up making the cover!!!!! So cool, and she was nice enough to use my fabrics from Darla and Ava Rose for the cover stockings,thank you mom! Anyway, check out her handmade goodies if you have a chance or pick up the December issue of Romantic Homes to learn how to make a hanky stocking of your own.

October 19, 2009

Slowly getting the downloadable patterns up and ready to go. Thank you so much for the warm welcome the Monterey Market Bag has received so far!!! I had a feeling there was a want out there for patterns you could get your hands on immediately. You know, sometimes you just need to make something right now!

Here's the newest, the Metro Bag, ready to go. Easy, reversible, roomy. I love the shape on this one and the way it hangs. It's got cute pleats at the top that give it a nice detailed look. Hope you like it!! Many more downloadable patterns to come, one at a time, slow and steady.

Husband is getting some hardware out of his leg from his freak beach accident last summer that left him with a mangled leg so I wanted to get this up before all extra time is spent waiting on his cute self hand and foot.

Hey, did you go to market?? How was it? Found myself wishing I had attended. So much beauty and inspiration was to be found this time from the pics I've seen.

Thank you Sunni! Please contact ljanewhelan@gmail.com to receive your patterns. We'll send out your Fat Quarter Shop fat quarter pack as soon as they get them in November. Thank you so much to all who entered. Over 600 this time which blew me away. You have no idea how much it means to read such incredibly kind things about my work. That sounds like a platitude but trust me, it ain't!!! It makes everything I do worthwhile, truly and it just touches me plain and simple. THANK YOU!!!!!!

October 07, 2009

Well, yeah launch feels like too strong a term to use here but it's a mini launch at least with much more to come. I've been wanting to start an on-line store of sorts with some sewn goods and some and (here comes the launch) some downloadable patterns for sale. I've been busy with the moving to Belgium thing so I figured I'll start small with a really easy, fast and cute pattern.

It's the Monterey Market Bag, that's the first one now available for immediate gratification, got that creative itch, but don't know what to make download. Why call it the Monterey Market Bag you may ask (you're probably not asking but I'll tell you anyway). When I used to live in Monterey California and Santa Cruz Cali too, they had these weekly farmer's markets filled with all kinds of beautiful produce and handmade goods for sale. There would always be a couple of booths filled with slouchy, simple, pretty, practically sized, bags made from leftover upholstery and other fabric, Indian saris, etc. The bags had a cool hippy vibe, cause they were made by cool, hippie women for the most part. And they always tempted me. This bag reminds me of those, totally simple, slouchy, would look great with leftover scraps, and you can make a bunch of em quickly if you want to make some quick presents.

Well, I hope you like it and we'll have another downloadable bag to introduce real soon and I promise to pick the winner of the giveaway in the next few days, I really promise!!

September 23, 2009

Well, it's about time for another fabric giveaway. Holly from Decor8 (a blog I check almost every day to be inspired by) was kind enough to blog about Dolce and seeing as she's a design blog rock star as well as author , columnist and decorator and so will be sending lot's of people this way I figured it's a great time to have a giveaway.

September 20, 2009

So I'm editing pictures of Dolce samples, trying to pick some good ones out of the 100 or so I've taken when I see that picture of Ava at the top there and it just makes me start crying, tears of joy sort of thing. I don't know, the picture just struck me as really poignant, I think it's that expression of joy and confidence on her face or maybe it was just the dimple. Probably it was what I suspect makes every mother cry at a beautiful picture of their child on occasion, that sense that that beautiful moment came and went, never to return. But luckily, there will be more to come...

Note: I'm going to start posting in French, Dutch and German as well, using google translate, an incredibly helpful tool BTW. I am living in Belgium and I see the visits from all over the place on my stats, plus, maybe it'll help me with my French...Apologies to the native speakers of those languages as google translate sometimes comes up with some non-sensical stuff.

September 17, 2009

And so it begins, the week long sewing extravaganza for Fall Quilt Market. Though, I think I only have about 5 days left before I really need to get samples in the mail. I'll share some more of my labor of love soon....Oh, and I think a give-away of some Dolce is definitely in order very soon.

September 10, 2009

No fabric to actually sew with yet, it's on it's way but who actually knows when it will arrive. Things get here a bit more slowly. So, I've been playing with Dolce the only way I can. The birdies are giving me lots of applique ideas though. I think this collection will be really good for that. My other collections haven't had such nice small, tight repeats which are so wonderful to use to make appliqued shapes.

And it's always fun to make little virtual doll house rooms....

Well, very soon I think/hope I'll have some actual sewn things to share with you from Dolce (I'm like rabid at this point to get my hands on it!! I hate to wait in general, but it's almost painful to wait for a new collection) And a great, very, very simple bag pattern as well that I really hope you like.

August 31, 2009

Just wanted to let you know about a great new magazine and a great new blog about the making of a magazine called Flea Market Style. Brought to you by author, lifestyle expert and former style editor of Country Home magazine Matthew Mead (I don't have to tell you how much I love Matthew's work if you've been reading my blog) and Ki Nassauer, author and former editor and columnist for Country Home magazine. And talented writer and blogger and now editor at large for Flea Market Style, Linda McDonald

I really cannot wait for the first issue to hit news stands!!! As this magazine will be produced by actual style editors (ie the creative forces behind our favorite magazines and ideas) as opposed to giant publishing houses I'm really looking forward to seeing their ideas come through in the pages of this new magazine.

This passage from the blog gives some insight into what it takes and what it's like to produce a fabulous magazine using talent and vision but without a big budget:

There was a time
when magazine stories had budgets...when there was actually money for
fresh flowers and props and last minute items, and when graphic
designers and writers and stylists were just simply part of the whole
package.

"Those were the good old days" as folks say and for Flea Market Style we are literally flying without a net. It is good in some ways: we
are forced to look at design with realistic boundaries. No trips into
New York to attend trendy design shows or vetting our ideas through
high end dealers who are trying to show off their wares in the glossy
pages of a magazine. Our tips and ideas, as well as the items we are
using to prop and decorate with, come from a place accessible to
everyone. It is stuff you will find at the flea market because that's
really where wefound it. Our style and design is real because weare real.

August 25, 2009

So, terrible pictures I know (getting a better camera in the mail soon!! I hope) but this is our new home for a long while anyway. It was not easy to get here. We found what we thought was the perfect rental house for us, late 19th century, 15 foot ceilings, ornate moldings, marble fireplaces, everything painted white, very well worn and a bit shabby, just how I like a house. What we didn't know was that the smell that pervaded the house was not something that would go away with some bleach and a good airing. It had a terrible mold, mildew problem, not uncommon here I've since found out (there is no air conditioning anywhere and it rains alot, go figure), and we had to move out after 2 nights.

It was sort of a difficult time, worried we had made a huge mistake, etc. But, even then, I knew in the scheme of things it was not that big a deal. We found this house, it smelled good, though sort of like a grandma (I love grandmas and their smells don't get me wrong, but after the last disaster I'm just very cognisent of smells) but it took me a while to warm up to it. I love old houses, I love the old house we still have in the states, so much in fact we decided not to sell it but to rent it out, but I had to get used to the darkness of the living room and all the color of the painted ceilings, wallpaper and tile floors. I'm just used to white and light so I'm adjusting, I'm really digging it now that I'm thinking of the living room more like a library, I feel really kind of a warm embrace when I'm sitting in there reading a book at night. I'm starting to understand the darkness of Victorian interiors I think. The house is definitely calling out for some treasures from the Paris flea market though (just 2.5 hours away) and I'll just have to oblige I think.

Anyway, bla, bla about the house, Belgium is lovely, very rural where we live in the French speaking part. Lots of giant cows, stone farm houses and fields. The Belgians are the absolute nicest, most lovely, and helpful people. The kids love the big yard with the ancient weeping willow and are starting to learn some French in school. They're happy, my husband and I are happy, it was the right decision...

August 20, 2009

Finally getting settled here, a slightly painful process I'll tell you about later...All is very well now and just a quick note to let anyone interested know that Fat Quarter Shop has made Dolce available for pre-order. Jocelyn tells me they are already getting requests for it which makes me very happy indeed. The collection represents a slightly different direction for me so I'm glad people are liking it. As soon as I can find my sewing machine I'll be blogging about projects made from Dolce as well as a new bag pattern we're introducing with what I hope you'll think is a cool twist.

June 08, 2009

OK, enough of that un-crafty stuff from the last post!! But before we get onto other things, may I just say, I LOVE YOU!!!! you totally wonderful people who wrote such lovely supportive things in the last post!! That silliness hurt my feelings so I'm just grateful to you who commented for throwing some love my way when I needed it.

With that behind us, this will probably be my last post for a little while cause I'm moving in 4 days!!! Can not wait. Trying to learn French, pack, finish re-working strikeoffs for my next collection, it's crazy here but very happy. Next time I'll be blogging from BELGIUM!!!!! So excited for this next chapter.

Got the July Martha Stewart Living in the mail this week and got to see our Practical Bag Pattern right there in the pages of the magazine (in the Briefing section, pg. 30) I've been reading since it began all those years ago. Amazing, amazing feeling to see that because, ya know, I love Martha. She's an icon, I grew up with her, I've learned from her, and I have enormous respect for what she's done as a business woman.

Fat Quarter Shop tells me they are having trouble keeping the Practical Bag in stock as they are the resource listed in the article. Such is the power of of Martha I guess...

June 01, 2009

"Gee,
does that mean you voted for that usurper who is not qualified to be
President? And now that he illegitimately sits in that office he is
selling us all down the river. Hope you're enjoying The Change. And now
we'll all watch as our country goes down for good."

After trying to respond to her via email (it bounced back three times) I ended up deleting the comment which I have never done before.

This was her response to the deletion of her comment:

"Oh,
so you only publish comments favorable to you. You delete anything that
disagrees with your views. I'll be sure to avoid buying your wares."

And:

"Well,
you are on the ball, at least when it comes to erasing any negative
comments. Be sure I'll spread the word in my quilt groups."

I want to sincerely apologize to Lucinda. Deleting the post was the wrong thing to do. I felt frustrated that I wasn't able email her and because I felt she must have fundamentally misunderstood the post I didn't feel comfortable with what I perceived to be a negative comment.

But I'd like to respond. I'm not at all sure why Lucinda assumed she knew my beliefs. I am private about these things, I think there's a good reason for the secret ballot. I think and hope that my comment did not give any clue at all to which side I come down on politically. I don't talk about politics here and don't talk about it in general because I have found that it can so often lead to negative feelings that impact relationships that I care about. What I was honestly and truly trying to say is that no matter what our political beliefs or who we vote for we usually have much more important things in common then we do differences. We love our families and we care about our communities, at least every one I know whether they are right, left, Republican or Democrat cares about these things. I KNOW this to be true because I have friends and relatives on all sides of the political spectrum who I LOVE and who love me, people who I know I could count on and people who I would help if they needed it. Basically, I was trying to say we are all Americans. Sorry, that's just what I believe and I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone with that thought.

I'm sorry, but I just can't and won't be angry with people who might have different beliefs then me. I'd spend alot of time being angry and I'd rather spend my time loving and caring for friends and family and neighbors (sometimes being angry at them but usually about petty stuff which is more fun to be angry about).

Hope I haven't offended anyone and I feel great respect for anyone who has passionate beliefs, I have them myself and I act on them privately in the voting booth.

PS Lucinda, again, I don't mean to offend you by saying this and I'm sorry if I had a negative impact on your mood today, cause honestly I get alot more joy out of having a positive impact on people but...you really cannot assume you know my politics because I have not told you what they are and you don't know me. What you can assume and what I will share with you is that I have utter and complete confidence in my country and in what I consider the nearly perfect system of checks and balances set forth in our beautiful constitution by our founding fathers. I'm a geek and I sometimes read the constitution for fun. Was just reading it the other night as a matter of fact. Maybe that's why I don't get too upset about politics. I believe that our system of government as laid out in the constitution ultimately protects us from bad governence or at least checks it at some point and that elections are part of that. The only thing you can assume about my political beliefs is that I truly love my country, our constitution and the ideals it stands for.

March 18, 2009

Sew News recently did this article about the "hottest new lifestyle designers". I was thrilled to be included among my incredibly talented colleagues, Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Anna Maria Horner, Tina Givens, and Valori Wells. It's funny though, "lifestyle designer" sounds so deliberate...I mean, I just design what I love, ok, I do picture the fabrics I design in a lifestyle context, that is to say, a white, bead board sun drenched room (usually this is what I'm thinking about) so I guess that's a lifestyle. I don't know though, what my fabrics (fabric in general really) give to me and what I hope they give to those who like what I design is sort of an opportunity to make my environment feel lovely and comfortable for me. I really feel like I could be happy anywhere as long as I have a sunny bare bones room, and a few yards of fabric, oh and some thread, oh yeah, some batting is also very useful, and I guess I could use a needle. I move alot, always have (haven't lived in the same place for more then 3 years since I was 18), and no matter where I go, so long as I have the tools, which for me is some pretty fabric I love, I always know I can make a home. So I guess that's sort of a lifestyle, maybe it's the lifestyle of a frugal gypsy? Hey, maybe a name for my next collection, LOL...

March 13, 2009

Well, you all helped me sooo much. I just finished up Darla Too!!! Thanks to you I decided to design Darla Too which will come out fall 09' and then follow it up with a more romantic collection called Petal to be released spring 10'. That way I didn't have to choose between the two impulses. I just couldn't get Darla out of my system, and it seems many of you agreed (thank you so much you sweet, sweet people!) so I used and reworked some of the patterns from Darla One and added fresh patterns that evoke the same feeling. Changed my mind while putting it together like a thousand times but it's done and I'm thrilled.

Now I can concentrate on making pretties and samples with French Hatbox which is coming out at Spring Market in May. I don't love these pictures of it, just haven't been able to get any pics I love of it, I'll keep workin on it... The collection does have a sort of un-abashedly feminine feel that brought to mind Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. I could and have watched that movie with the sound off, it's so incredibly beautiful.

Next I'll be fixing up all the little things that need it as we begin the process of showing our house to potential renters. I'm just wondering how I'm gonna be able to keep this place in show worthy condition from now until we rent it. Ugh!

Ok, now for the important part, The winner of the pattern giveaway is Rachael!!!

I usually pick at random using one of those number generator thingys and I loved and took to heart every single comment and am grateful to all of you who left me something sweet to think about, but this time I just really loved what Rachael said, it painted a picture and I could relate to it. Fabric always tells me a story, and this is what I try to do with my collections I love the story my fabrics told her. This is what she said:

Living in
a big city and being surrounded by chaos and noise on a regular basis
I'd find myself craving a quiet spot and a stack of magazines featuring
countryside cottages and seashore homes. In my teens I could spend an
afternoon in the walk in closet in my bedroom that I'd papered to look
like it was sprung from the pages of one of those magazines. The
clothes were soon kicked out of this little closet and I brought in a
small bookcase and a reading chair. I'd spend hours at a time looking
at photos of antiqued bedframes bedecked with softly colored linens and
pillows bursting out of floral pillowcases... completely immersing
myself so the noise from the street didn't even register in my head.
When I first saw Barefoot Roses it took me back to those afternoons in
my chic closet dreaming of country life and beauty everywhere- my
initial response was THAT IS IT-- those are the colors, the patterns,
the complete embodiment of the style and design I've been craving. It's
been almost 10 years since I've sat in that closet- 10 years of
commutes, noise, chaos, and promises to do something nice for myself to
encourage a little relaxing "me" time. Barefoot Roses gave me the
inspiration to create a bedroom and bathroom inspiried by the magazines
I craved (and still do). I wake up every morning to soft but bright
colors, clean lines, meandering florals, and sweet dots. It brings me
back to my center and inspires me to take a little time to remember
what I love in life instead of plowing through it.

February 11, 2009

Did I spell that blog post title right? Is it indecision or in-decision? I'm a terrible speller (is that even a word) but I almost never spell check things, not sure what my problem is...OK, anyway, for goodness sake, I'm just having the toughest time deciding where to take my next collection. I've never struggled like this before but maybe that's because all I had to go on before was instinct and now after 4 collections (one you haven't fully seen yet) I'm worried about letting you down. So, I'm asking you, which of my collections have you liked the best. Barefoot Roses, Ava Rose, or Darla (they're over there on the right and on my website which is on the left) if you want to refresh your memory. I think I know the answer but tell me what you like, what has just "gotten" to you when you first saw it. I think this will really help me decide although you never know, I could end up going in a totally different direction and surprising you and myself for that matter. But still, I'd love to hear from you all if you have a moment, help an indecisive girl out...

Oh, and above there, those are some super lovely things I saw on the Flickr group today. I so love these!!! This girl has a beautiful blog, it's in another language (is it Finnish?) which I guess could be problematic, not for me luckily since I'm more of a picture person.

February 01, 2009

Well, I've been having a lovely Sunday playing with swatches of French Hatbox, and going to Starbucks for hot chocolate, and taking a walk with my crazy family, it's always an adventure with them truly.

Trying to get ideas for samples to make for market with FH. I think it would be fun to make a little crazy patchwork dress, maybe for a little one. Won't be getting any real yardage for a while but like to just play to start getting ideas.

Have to tell you I'm always a little nervous about putting up a new collection, I mean you all are so incredibly supportive and just plain nice but there's always the chance that someone won't like it and will say so, which would be ok, but, ya know, I want you to like it!

Obviously this collection is super fem, the colors do remind me of the Sophia Coppola film, Marie Antoinette, all sherbet and candy. It's allllll girl, sort of like a sugar cookie with pink icing and those cool silver sprinkle things on top, and I can't wait to make some pretty things for Ava's bed with it...

By the way, I am a total Facebook convert. It is way fun to be able to keep up with people in real time that way. After I got over the initial weirdness of it (if you join it's likely you'll run into people you haven't seen or heard from since kindergarten) I really got into being able to just check in with what my friends and creative peeps are doing in real time. It's just fun, like a real conversation that you can participate in but don't have to.

I even started a group there called Proud to be a Haus-Frau. I put it up as kind of a joke between me and my best girl but apparently it resonated because we already have 44 members. Here's the description I put on Facebook:

For all women who are so busy schlepping kids around that they find themselves make-up less at kids soccer games, the supermarket, work, etc. on a regular basis. You know who you are, women who haven't had quite enough "mirror time" since their first baby! But are strangely happy that life is so full even if it means they don't always get a daily shower in! Haus-fraus unite! Let the world know about "Haus-Frau Chic."

This group was inspired by my best friend who, when given the eye by a cute guy on the street, exclaimed "don't look at me, I'm a haus -frau." This cracked me up and ever since then I take every opportunity that presents itself to describe myself as a (very proud) Haus-frau.

January 26, 2009

Just wanted to give a big, giant shout out to Hancock's of Paducah. They have supported my collections from the very beginning and continue to carry my fabric lines and my patterns. Not only that but they also happen to carry a huge variety of other fantastic fabrics. I have a special respect for them because they're a family business. You can always recognize the Hancock brothers at market, they all look quite alike, a tall, very American looking bunch they are and I can only imagine the pride that the Hancock family must have by continuing such a wonderful legacy. They've been distributing they're amazing variety of fabrics nationally since way before there even was an internet through they're fantastic catalog which I was just recently leafing through. I'm very grateful to them and hope you will check them out for my lines as well as many other great collections. Thank you Hancocks of Paducah!!!!!

Now, La Tee Da !! Debbie recently sent me these incredible pictures. Nothing makes me happier then seeing what beautiful things people do with my fabrics. And these are beautiful photographs, I kinda can't stand how cute these girls are. Ugh, those sweet faces...Anyway, check out her store for more adorableness. La Tee Da Kids

January 25, 2009

Well, I've had quite and adventure with Face Book the past couple of days. It was interesting and fun but a little surreal to reconnect with people from elementary school! It wasn't feeling quite natural to combine the old friend connecting thing with people I know through my work so I decided the page will be only for connecting to others who know me through the blog or are in the fabric design or related fields, and for connecting with others who are interested in fabric, sewing, quilting, crafting. interior design, architecture and photography.

I mean, to be honest, if we haven't talked for 20 years, we probably don't have much to say, right? Just my little take on it. (I'm with you on this thing Monica).

I am finding it a really great way to communicate with people really quickly though, something I'm not great at, mostly because I'm disorganized, and that I hope to get better at (that's the confession, I want to get better at it!).

So, if you know me through the blog and want to friend me there, that would be peechy keen. And if there are any interesting craft or related groups that you belong to on facebook and think are great please let me know.

January 22, 2009

Ok, I really got nothin. Ava broke my camera by jumping on my arm while I was trying to take her picture so this is just a somewhat random picture of me meant to symbolize how I got nothin pretty to post.

New camera's coming this week but it's been so long and I just wanted to say hi! So hi!

Here's a random list of what I'm doing/thinking about:

Thanks for all the new pretty pics of Darla on the Flickr group. I LOVE!!!! seeing them and am grateful that anyone takes the time to do it...

I've been organizing and fixing up my home office, I should not of waited so long because it feels really good.

I, me myself, alone installed a wood floor in our powder room which we are giving a facelift to in anticipation of renting our house (because of the Belgium move, if we like it there we might sell our house and buy there, there seems to be no shortage of gorgeous old houses there which is my 4th favorite thing in life). Yeah baby, I am woman, here me roar (or here me yell and curse because of all the annoying cuts I had to make around the toilet pipe). It felt good though.

I found out that at least 2 pictures of me from junior high and high school have surfaced on facebook which sort of creeps me out. We didn't even have pcs back then (just Atari) so naturally I wouldn't expect some hideous picture of me to surface years later in such a public place.

I then joined facebook, encouraged by my best friend since junior high, but am not sure why I did.

What's your experience with face book? Please tell me...Was it good to get in contact with people you haven't seen in years or not so good? trying to decide if I should take my profile down.

I saw a picture in Domino of a house and immediately new it was in Belgium without reading the text (because I can't stop perrusing immo web the Belgian real estate site). The fact that I knew that made me strangely happy.

What do you think about these crazy new regulations regarding sales of children's products that could really effect home businesses? I'm not so hot on them.

The kids are taking French after school and I found myself jealous (and proud) that they will certainly be fluent much more quickly then me and will have to translate for me in Belgium. " Oui Mama, the television news person said that it is the law in Belgium that all children must be allowed to stay up till 10pm."

Country Home magazine closed its doors after 30 years, damn this recession!!! I hold out hope that it will come back one day.

December 18, 2008

Well, Darla's shipping out already and I'm thrilled that a few wonderful crafters have actually made things with her already! Amazing! But wanted to let you know about this giveaway of Darla fat quarters over at Quilt TaffyShe asked people to say what they'd make with Darla and I have to admit I'm having too much fun reading the comments. I've been thinking that Darla really represents hominess and domesticity to me and apparently she is for others as well as aprons, kitchen stuff and table cloths seem to be coming up alot! Just what I want to make from Darla...

But, in case you don't win, here are some stores that already have Darla in stock.

I also have to make a couple of movie suggestions for anyone who's gonna have just a tinsy bit of time to kick back and watch a movie over the holiday break. I've been taken it real easy just lately, I needed it and thanks to a great friend who helped me to realize that, it really is ok to take it easy! (you know who you are, thank you, thank you!!) I've been kickin back and enjoying the moment a bit more.

Part of taking it easy has meant watching Netflix movies while folding laundry, very slowly. Usually I barely fold and just try to get clean laundry into the drawers as quickly as possible. So, I watched 2 Days in Paris with my husband and we both loved it!! It reminded me of the Woody Allen films I grew up watching and loving, my husband does not share my love of Woody Allen movies but he really liked this film. Funny, sweet, authentic movie about relationships and about being an American in a foreign land.

Not exactly a great movie but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know but I just think Ridley Scott has such a gift for achieving the look of a movie and setting a mood. It's really beautiful, set in a Provencal chateau, I pretty much could have watched it with the sound off.

Anyway, I don't want to get all Oprah on you but, I forget to enjoy the little moments that make life so sweet, been doing more of it lately and it just feels really good. Who knows, maybe I'll even knit a scarf.

December 09, 2008

Hello all. Just wanted to tell you about some Christmasy stuff, like the adorable stockings above made by my very own mother and available through her Etsy store, Xmas Muse. I think it's just the cutest thing ever that she has an Etsy store and her stockings made from bits of vintage quilting piecework are so fantastic I think. My mother has an amazing eye for detail and I just love these so if you're looking for a last minute gift take a look at her store.

Below that are some little gift tags I made while procrastinating when I should have been doing real work. You can download them here and print them out on card stock if you like.

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Connecticut on Friday I highly recommend stopping by Jen's beautiful house for tea, cookies, a big dose of Christmas cheer and of course her beautiful handmade, one of a kind, Sis Boom, Christmas goods which will be on sale. Oh how I wish I could go.

And, one more thing, if you're looking for something super duper cute to make and give as a gift check out Monica's tutorial for these adorable banners

November 17, 2008

Are you getting that holiday feeling yet? I'm just starting to, having just put a bunch of work behind me including a new collection called Lulu and Delilah. I now feel that I can fully embrace and enjoy this wonderful time of year.

A nice way to start it out was to see this whilst in the supermarket checkout line over the weekend. Jennifer had told me she saw it but I hadn't gotten my subscription copy. I wanted to tell the lady in back of me, hey look there's my fabric on the cover of Country Home, but I decided to hold back and avoid an uncomfortable moment. Matthew Mead styled up a beautiful, crisp, red and green holiday 6 page pictorial spread of my fabrics made into all manner of Christmasy craft goodness. That color green on the walls is just killing me, I love it!! We had originally discussed doing the shoot at my house but it didn't happen for various reasons and I was kind of relieved and there's no way the final result could have been any prettier then this so I'm very happy. Matthew's a genius designer, stylist, author and photographer so of course I knew the story would be great but oh how beautiful it turned out to be.

Check out more Matthew goodness here and his blog. And check out the Country Home website where I think there are more pics from the story but they weren't coming up when I looked at it. There's so much other great Christmas inspiration in this issue so it's well worth picking it up.

And if you're looking for a great gift idea here's one

It will definitely be under the tree of some of my loved ones. Available here

Book Description:

In Entertaining Simple, lifestyle and entertaining guru Matthew Mead shows you how to say goodbye to party jitters and say hello to stylish, easygoing gatherings. He gives you everything you need for parties that are wonderfully simple--and simply wonderful.

Packed with beautiful color photographs, this great guide gives you innovative ideas, tasty recipes, and complete game plans for all kinds of get-togethers. To demonstrate how to put his simple entertaining ideas into practice, Matthew gives you complete plans for eight fabulous get-togethers and he provides creative serving ideas and tempting menus for each party.

Oh and I found out that one of my Christmas projects from last year will be featured on HGTV on a show called 25 Great Holiday Ideas airing Friday November 28th at 9pm. I think just a photo will be shown but still thought it was neat.

November 02, 2008

Election day is almost here. There is so much passion on both sides, we Americans are a passionate people. I just felt the need to say that I have friends who I quite literally love and would trust whole heartedly in any kind of emergency, with my children, etc. who I completely disagree with on political matters. It helps for me personally to remember that when politics starts to get my Irish up. So, just wanted to say that we are all Americans tonight and will remain so on Wednesday no matter the outcome of the election, and that is a beautiful thing. If your candidate loses take comfort that almost half the country is in agreement with your choice and the side who won are by and large decent people who love their families and their country like you do. And there's always next time...

Wishing you peace and love!!!

Now, everyone go and vote your conscious on Tuesday!!!!!

And if your man loses just look at this little deer, it's gotta cheer you up a little...

October 20, 2008

So, I've sewin up a storm. All the goodies will be shipped off to Houston for Fall Quilt Market. If you're there and you have a chance go checkout Darla at the Free Spirit booth. I mean I'd hate to have sewn up all this stuff and not have anyone see it...The patchwork baby blankets were especially fun to make and quick!

Did you happen to notice the bed in the top picture. You might remember this bed drama. I ended up giving in and actually buying a brand new old style iron bed. We're moving in the spring so I had to be realistic and get something for Ava that wouldn't break during the move. The other one is sitting in my garage, poor thing. I'll probably drop it back off at Alvin's so somebody else might take it home and give it the love it deserves.

Oh, got a great review over at Sew Mama Sew blog for the Ella Carry All (they carry all our patterns, yeah, thanks Kristin!). Always makes me breath a sigh of relief because although my mother and I edit and re-edit and check a million time for mistakes, it's just good to have someone else confirm that the pattern works and is easy to understand.

October 05, 2008

Well, I've been busy...that's for sure. Like everyone else in the world I guess, I mean I don't know anybody who isn't ridiculously busy these days. Was it always this way? Been having some fun in the midst of the craziness (patterns shipping, Darla samples to sew, 2 other collections to finish by the deadline) though. Just got my sample yardage of Darla so I've been sewin up a storm. It really is my favorite part of this thing. It's weird though because when I first take the fabric out of the box I always think, "oh no, I've made a huge mistake...this, this and this should be different". But as soon as start sewing I start falling in love. It happened again, I love my girl Darla. Taking pics of Ava decked out in Darla today was so fun and reminded why the really busy pace right now is worth it. I mean, it feels weird to admit, but fabric makes me just stupidly happy.

Patterns have been selling incredibly well so thank you so much to everyone who's bought them for themselves or their store. I just really mean thank you from my heart as it means the hard work is paying off and hopefully the things I design are making other people happy.

I've missed blogging, haven't even been reading my favorite blogs which I really miss but I have been seriously bogged down. So busy in fact that I had to turn down an incredibly exciting and flattering opportunity, a book. I never thought I would turn down such a thing, I mean jeez a book with my name on it, crazy. But it wasn't the exact right project at the exact right time so I had to be mature (no easy feat for me) and turn it down. Hopefully, the right book project at the right time will present itself because I'd love to do it.

But I am excited about some other upcoming things. Got to work with Matthew Mead, the amazing, incredibly talented stylist and author for a Christmas shoot in Country Home. Matthew is a complete genius in my opinion and also a completely lovely person. I'll post pics of it as soon as I get the magazine.

September 12, 2008

Oh goodness, I miss posting, it's been so long!!Truth is I just didn't feel right about blogging till all my ducks were in a row in terms of getting the new patterns out the door. Lots of lessons learned about being too optimistic regarding how long things actually take but finally the patterns have actually started shipping. Fat Quarter Shop has all 5 patterns available now (scroll down the linked page to see the patterns)for those of you who have been asking me for months only to receive my lame response of soon, really soon... I think. Also, they made up super cute kits for the Flea Market Bag and 2 fabrics from the Ava Rose collection. I'll put up a more complete list when we get this initial batch out but just wanted you to know that FQS has them in stock. Thank you for your patience and I hope your summer has been fabulous, and I seriously miss you all!!! Oh, and there's the Ella Carry-All up there. Showed her at Quilt Market but hadn't posted any pics of her yet.
Back soon....

July 24, 2008

So, I'm incredibly excited!!!!!! that I'm moving to someplace probably around next spring. It's going to be a wonderful adventure for all of us, especially the kids and I can hardly wait. But, can you guess where? OK, the introducing a topic or piece of information by asking the person to guess is a weird habit of mine that I recently realized. For instance, I'll see something interesting on TV and be like, "honey, guess what I just saw on TV" ...It's very 6th grade, I realize, but I am very much like a 6th grader in many ways so, oh well. Indulge me, just guess where I'm moving...please, just guess. I'd give more hints besides the pictures but you'd guess in like a second if I gave any real hints....

Hello!!

Hi There!I'm Tanya. I blog here about my life and my work as an author, fabric, product and sewing pattern designer. My fabrics, scrap booking products, paper products and sewing patterns are available globally. My second book for Random House, Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time includes interchangeable patterns to create 219 unique dresses. It will be released June 16th, 2015. Thank you for coming by!